The FIFA World Player of the Year is a football award given annually to the player who is thought to be the best in the world, based on votes by coaches of international teams. In a voting system based on a type of a Borda count, each coach gets three votes, worth five points, three points and one point, and the winners are ordered based on total number of points. The first award started in 1991.

Following criticism from some sections of the media over questionable nominations in previous years in 2004 FIFA drew up a shortlist of 35, from which national team managers and, for the first time, team captains and representatives from FIFPro could vote.

In 2010, the FIFA World Player of the Year and France Football's Ballon d'Or award were merged and the world's best player has since been awarded the FIFA Ballon d'Or each year